A Complex Layout
“As mentioned, the topography of the [landscape] was relatively complicated. It was a fairly steep space, and slopes lead to movement, not stillness,” Herrero de Egaña says. “It was necessary to design the terrain in such a way as to balance recreational and transitional spaces.”
They also wanted create some privacy without giving up the views. “We had to plan the layout so as to enjoy not only privacy, but also views. In some parts of the [landscape], you wouldn’t know where it starts and where it ends. This has been achieved with a garden trick: the ha-ha, a type of sunken moat, common in the eighteenth century, that separates the garden area from the rest of the grounds. It involves digging a deep trench, lined with a stone or brick wall on the interior side,” the designer says.
“As mentioned, the topography of the [landscape] was relatively complicated. It was a fairly steep space, and slopes lead to movement, not stillness,” Herrero de Egaña says. “It was necessary to design the terrain in such a way as to balance recreational and transitional spaces.”
They also wanted create some privacy without giving up the views. “We had to plan the layout so as to enjoy not only privacy, but also views. In some parts of the [landscape], you wouldn’t know where it starts and where it ends. This has been achieved with a garden trick: the ha-ha, a type of sunken moat, common in the eighteenth century, that separates the garden area from the rest of the grounds. It involves digging a deep trench, lined with a stone or brick wall on the interior side,” the designer says.